Tourism in Zanzibar has basically always been the mass
type of sun, sex and sand, but added to this there
is now drugs, Professor Seithy Chachage lamented recently.
Professor Chachage, a lecturer at the University of
Dar es Salaam in his study: Land, Forest and People
in Zanzibar, said the tourism industry in Isles is
now widely accused of being involved in drug-trafficking
and money laundering and that investments in tourism
are simply used as pretexts.

He said his study revealed that drug abuse by locals
is also on the increase, particularly in Zanzibar town,
adding that claims are rife that Zanzibar has become
one of the major centres for drug abuse or trafficking
directly linked to tourism.

His sources say that there are European countries from
where drug-traffickers arrive, part of the groups of
tourists of up to 300 that arrive in the isles for
holidays or business at intervals of two months. The
tourists are mostly from Italy, Germany and Britain,
staying in beach resorts and hotels owned by foreigners.
Of the more than 60 of these resorts/hotels, over 60
per cent of these are owned by Italians, some in partnership
with locals.

Chachage says in his study that just after Christmas
1996, two chartered planes landed in Zanzibar, straight
from Italy, with more than 2,000 tourist who were going
to spend their time on the beaches. He says that 'this
mass influx shows the type and the nature of tourism
which has been going on in Zanzibar'. Africa Events,
a local newspaper, once quoted one resident in Zanzibar
town as having said the following on the character
of the tourist in Zanzibar: "They are up to no
good these tourists. All over the Island whorehouses
are propping up to cater for them. The so-called hotels
coming by dozens on the beach front are no more than
dens of inequities. Tourist lure our girls here with
wild promises of foreign travel. They then get them
into the cocaine habit. The next thing you know, they
get hooked. We want investment but not the sort that
turns our sisters and daughters into whores and junkies."

It is with the development of tourism that drug abuse
and trafficking have become rampant. Some Zanzibari
youths went recently protested on the streets, against
tourism, in the name of the Islamic faith. There have
also been condemnation of the industry from religious
leaders in many parts of the country. One Sheikh Kurwa
Shauri was imprisoned and finally deported to Tabora
after demanding the government abolish tourism.

The study reveals also that there were 150 Zanzibaris
serving long term jail sentences in India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Turkey, Egypt and European countries for
drug trafficking by the year 1995 and twelve of them
had been sentenced to death.

In a bid to fight against drug trafficking, the Zanzibar
government deported two Italian businessmen in early
1995 after receiving reports from the Interpol that
they were notorious drug-traffickers. These Italians
were among investors who had come from Mombasa where
they had previously invested and had been accused by
the Kenyan government of promoting drug-trafficking
on the coastal belt of Kenya.

More recently, a British businessman, Thomas Wells,
who entered into an investment deal worth US$ 4 billion,
a tourism and development project, was arrested at
Dar es Salaam Airport following an Interpol alert over
fraud charges in the Sultanate of Aman. The businessman
had been convicted and sentenced in absentia in 1995
in Oman on charges of fraudulently issuing two cheques
of US$2,728 in 1994. He had left for Zanzibar in the
same year. The Tanzanian police has been unable to
apprehend him in Zanzibar where he had highly placed
friends in the government.

This businessmen was working on a leisure development
project in Nungwi peninsula jointly with the government
and the East African Development Co. Ltd (EADC). The
investment was to include 11 hotels, a resort village,
a time share village, an 18-hole golf course, a race
course, airport, a school, a trade and conference centre
and off shore facilities.

It would therefore appear, according to the study by
Professor Chachage, that despite the fact that Zanzibar
has always aspired to establishing an organized sustainable
high class tourism, tourism which is culturally and
environmentally friendly, the reality proves now to
be far from this.

Stories:

1.POLICE READY FOR PROBE OVER MWEMBECHAI DEATHS

Policemen were forced to use guns during the Mwembechai
riots in Dar es Salaam to protect lives of innocent
citizens after all attempts to overpower rioters failed,
police confirmed recently.

Seniors officials in Dar es Salaam said that policemen
deployed at the Mwembechai Mosque had no other way
to control rioters, who were allegedly Muslim fundamentalists,
except to use guns.

Last month's riots, which took place at Mwembechai area
along Morogoro road lead to the death of two persons
said to have been shot by the police. "We had
fired plenty of warning shots in the air to scare the
rioters but they continued to throw stones at the policemen,"
a senior police officer who asked for his name to be
kept anonymous said. "Therefore, police had no
choice but to shot rioters who went on the rampage
looting shops and burning vehicles," he stressed.

He added that the rioters had themselves to blame for
stirring the social unrest which threatened peace and
tranquility in Dar es Salaam. He maintained he had
no fear if a Presidential Committee was appointed to
investigate the deaths of those killed in the riots.

Recently, two different Islamic organizations have demanded
the formation of an independent committee to investigate
the circumstances that led to the Mwembechai killings.
The Secretary of the Committee for Muslim Rights at
the Mwmbechai Mosque, Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda, cautioned
that leaders of the mosque would "take action"if
the government did not reprimand policemen alleged
to have killed the protestors.

Also, a similar appeal to appoint an independent public
inquiry was made to President Benjamin Mkapa by the
secretary general of the Supreme Council of Islamic
Organizations and Institutions of Tanzania, Sheikh
Abbas Kilima and 23 MPs sent a letter to the Speaker
of the National Assembly, Pius Msekwa, asking him to
summon the Parliamentary Legal and Constitution Affairs
Committee to probe the police killings of unarmed citizens.

2.HEALTH MINISTRY: 'EU CHOLERA BAN ON FISH NO LONGER
JUSTIFIED'

The Tanzania Health Ministry Principal Secretary, Reynald
Mrope, said recently his ministry had advised fish
exporters to observe hygienic practices and he was
satisfied that the measures had been implemented. He
said that 'unless there is a hidden agenda' the European
Union could no longer take cholera as the reason for
restricting food transactions.

In the middle of last year, the European Union slapped
a ban on fish exports from East and Central African
states, including Tanzania, on the grounds of unhygienic
conditions of handling of fish and because of widespread
cholera in the region at the time. The ban is still
in place.

The statement from the Health Ministry received support
from the World Health Organization (WHO) which said
cholera was a lame excuse, adding the ban would further
incapacitate the already fragile economies of the region.
The EU said it would lift the ban after it had inspected
industries jointly with local experts and when it was
satisfied that the cholera threat was no more. The
EU ban was on fresh fish only.

A Consultant with Mana Asiatic Group Ltd, Othman Mfuta
Kamba, said the ban was an unfair one, calling on the
EU to review the decision. Dr Kamba said Tanzania stood
to lose Tsh24.5bn/- (US$ 36m) worth of annual fish
exports, Tsh900m/- a month and causing job insecurity
for over 100,000 people if the ban stayed in place.

3.GOVERNMENT TO INVOLVE NGOs IN POLICY MAKING

The government has pledged to involve NGOs and community
based organizations (CBOs) in the formulation of the
country's policy on NGOs. The Co-ordinator of NGOs
in the Vice-President's Office, Estomih Mushi, said
recently that the NGOs and CBOs involvement in policy-making
was aimed at increasing efficiency.

"By incorporating them, the organization would
improve the planning of their services and at the same
time create a basis for better relations with the government,"
he explained. Mr Mushi said that the preparations for
the formulation of the NGO policy were expected to
be completed in October this year. He said that the
basis for the policy was a three-day workshop on NGO
policy which took place in November 1996.

The workshop, which was organized by the Vice-president's
office in collaboration with the National Income Generating
Program (NIGP) and the International Labour Organization
(ILO) resulted in the formation of the steering committee
which coordinated the preparation of the NGO policy.

The steering committee, consisting of 26 members from
NGOs, citizens' communities, religious organizations
and government officials, prepared the second draft
of the NGO policy. A three-day national workshop also
organized by the Vice-president's office in collaboration
with NIGP and other NGOs was held between the 24th
and 26th February last year to discuss NGO policy.

The Vice-president, Dr Omar Ali Juma, opened the workshop
which was attended by 250 participants from all over
the country. Participants included government officials,
local and international NGOs, community-based organizations,
international organizations, the donor community and
academics.

Mr Mushi said the government's invitation to both NGOs
and CBOs in drafting the NGO policy had improved the
co-operation between the government and the NGOs. The
co-operation between the two sides is essential to
the creation of a conducive working environment for
NGOs, he observed.

4.WOMEN BEING EXPLOITED SAYS MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRIES

About half of the people employed by the informal sector
in Tanzania between 1991 and this year are women, the
Deputy Minister of Industries and Trade, Ms Shamim
Khan said recently in Dar es Salaam. She said that
the statistics clearly confirm the importance of the
informal sector as a key generator to employment and
also as a major contributor to the national income.

Ms Khan said this when opening an exhibition for products
made by women at Mashujaa grounds in Dar es Salaam
to mark International Women's Day. Ms Khanm expressed
dissatisfaction over the unequal distribution of the
national income, saying that women's labour was heavily
exploited despite the handsome contribution their income
was making to the national economy.

"Poverty is now normal among women since they do
not enjoy the full slice of their income," the
Deputy Minister stated. She pledged full government
support for women income generating activities by providing
small loans. She said between 1994 and 1998 a total
of 501 loans worth TSH 1.56 billion (US$ 2,5 million)
were issued by the government to small entrepreneurs
through the Small Scale Industries Organizations (SIDO),
to finance more than 1,000 projects. The celebrations
for International Women's Day lasted eight days. Among
other activities, the participants in the eight days
of celebrations discussed the success of Tanzanian
women in the sphere of social economic development.

5.GOVERNMENT WILL NOT INTERVENE IN RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS

The Vice-President Dr Omar Ali Juma said recently that
the government will not intervene in any religious
conflicts and each sect will be required to solve its
own problems.

The vice-president said this when he opened a new mosque
at Turiani in Morogoro Region. He said the government
had enough to do without having to start handling religious
problems as well. Dr Omar asked Muslims and Christians
to value peace and tranquility and solve their misunderstandings
by sitting together to discuss their differences and
find solutions.

At the same time, a member ofthe ruling Chama Cha mapinduzi
(CCM) central committee, Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru, said
there was no plan to use the People's Defence Forces,
the Tanzanian national army, to quell religious riots
in the country.

Ngombale-Mwiru was talking to journalists on reports
by some Kiswahili papers that the party's central committee,
which met in Dodoma recently, has proposed asking the
government to use the army to combat religious riots.
Ngombale Mwiru was also quoted blaming reports that
Zanzibar leaders intended to break up the union between
the isles and the mainland during the Dodoma meeting.

Ngombale Mwiru who is also a minister of State in the
president's office, refuted the reports which had said
that Zanzibar delegates to the CCM meeting entered
the session carrying a Shiraz flag to express their
discontent with the union. Ngombale Mwiru warned newspapers
against carrying stories that were likely to cause
misunderstandings between the government and its people.

6.POLICE HARASS PEOPLE AT OPPOSITION RALLIES - UDP CHAIRMAN

The United Democratic Party (UDP) national chairman,
John Cheyo, recently urged the government against using
the police force to silence opposition parties for
organizing political rallies. MR Cheyo said that the
government should 'stop the behaviour of the police
where they intimidated people attending meetings arranged
by opposition parties'.

"Why should policemen appear in rallies organized
by the opposition parties in war-like manner,"
the UDP leader queried. "They come armed with
dangerous weapons... This is terrorism," he charged.

Mr Cheyo, who is also a member of parliament, accused
the police of terrorizing would-be voters, an act he
described as infringement of people's rights to choose
the leader they wanted. If government do not stop policeman
intimidating people at rallies organized by opposition
parties 'we will be forced to employ our own militia
to safeguard our interests and if that situation occurs,
peace in this country would be disrupted' Mr Cheyo
said.

Cheyo claimed that policemen treated his party unfairly
in campaign meetings at the recently concluded Kahama
by-election in which the ruling CCM candidate RaphaÎl
Mlowa, won. Kahama is in Shinyanga Province, in the
north west of Tanzania. He claimed that the presence
of policeman at campaigns organized by the UDP had
scared voters, and this contributed to the party's
defeat. Mr Cheyo alleged that police threatened voters
to the extent that 25 percent of them did not cast
their votes

7.FOREX DEALERS ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OF IGNORING SHILLING
FALL

The government has ignored the 10 per cent drastic rise
in the price of the dollar against the shilling, which
touched Tsh 690 in the interbank market recently from
Tsh 630 just 3-4 weeks ago, foreign exchange dealers
have said.

The dealers also felt there was no logic behind the
rise. In fact, when the dealers expressed their concern
over the fall of the shilling, they were informed by
a few officials of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) that
the matter had been passed on to 'higher authorities'.

The BoT officials further said that the Central Bank
read this fall in the shilling as a move by speculators,
and was waiting for the shilling to undergo market
correction. For instance, a dealer said, if there was
a demand for US$ 200,000, and assuming that market
conditions were tight, most of the interbank dealers
tended to place bigger orders than the demand. This
process of excess orders helped the dollar to strengthen
on the market.

Also, it has been learned that while on the one hand
importers suffered the most due to the fall in the
shilling, exporters, on the other, gained from it.
However, some dealers have said that the export season
was only set to begin in three months i.e. in June,
so there was no way exporters could benefit.

The BoT was expected to intervene in the foreign exchange
market after the drastic fall was noticed, to stabilize
the falling shilling. However, it did not do so.

8.TANZANIAN TEA FETCHES SUPER PRICE

Tanzania's tea is fetching between US$ 1.8 to 2.6 per
kilogram on the international market at the beginning
of 1998 is just the prelude to a bright future for
their counterparts in the other East African countries
of Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.

A report from Tanzania Tea Blenders (TTB) said while
the tea grown in Iringa (Central ) and Mbeya (South
West) regions in Tanzania fetched a super price of
165 pence a kilo, tea from Burundi fetched the highest
price of 178 pence a kilo at the London auction market.

A senior officer at TTB said the Tanzania tea production
declined by 27.2 percent from 25,000 tonnes in 1995/96
to 18,200 tonnes because of a number of factors, including
drought in some parts of neighbouring East African
countries.

Tanzania tea exports to the world market are third biggest
in value after coffee and fish which generate about
Tsh 900 million monthly. Following the temporary ban
on exports of fish fillets from Lake Victoria to the
European Union Countries, tea is now rated second after
coffee as foreign exchange earner.